Pedal cover



Decf 8, 1942.

A. B. JONES i PEDAL COVER Filed Oct. 9, 1940` Snnentor Patented Dec. 8, 1942` UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ,l `arenal() PEDAL COVER Arthur B. Jones, Detroit, Mich. i Application october 9, 194o,`seria1 Na. `360,355

Claims.

,'Ijhis invention relates generally to steam "presser apparatus iorpressing fabrics and more particularly to foot pedal pads therefor.` L In clothes or fabric steampressers,` and particularly large commercial `types of pressers, a

Afoot pedal is provided by'means of which the l loperator moves the presser head down and locks "it against the steam table to steam and press *material therebetween. Because of the size of these machines, it requires considerable force to operate the pedal, and, further, the operatorl 4the steam table, withthe resultthat the pedal iiies up and in many cases injures the operators leg.

` Accordingly, it is an object of the presentin- `vention to provide for pedals of steam pressers,

a foot pad which will overcome the above men-` tioned objections. A further object of the invention is to provide an attachable foot pad for a steam presser operiating pedal and one which is inexpensive to manufacture and easily replaceable.

Other objects of the invention will become aphis shown,` carry at corresponding or like ends thereof a presser head I6 which in operation of the presser is brought down against the upper `surface of the steam table I3. The lever I5 is provided with a rearwardly extending arm I'I to parent from the `following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, inwhich:

Figure l is a side view showing generally a steam presser having a foot operated pedal with "my foot pad thereon;

Figure 2 is an enlarged side view `of my foot pad and a portion of the pedal arm;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the foot pad;

Il) from which upright standards I I extend, only one of which standards is shown. Below the upper ends of the standards II a horizontal supwhich one end of a connecting or push rod I8 is connected, the other end of the rod I8 being connected to one end of a pedal lever or treadle I9 which is pivoted intermediate its ends to the uprights IU on a shaft 20. From the shaft 20, the lever I9 has a forwardly extending arm 2|, on one end of which is usually provided a metallic foot pedal 2,2 on which the operator steps to swing lever I5 to lower the presser head I6 against the upper surface of the steam table I3. A spring 22a, having one end secured to the lever arm Il and the other end anchored to an integral lug 23 of the standard II is provided for returning the lever I5 to its raised position or the position shown in Figure 1.

In order to lessen the jar received by the operator upon lowering of the pressure head I6 and also to decrease wear of the operators shoes, I provide a resilient foot pad, designated in general by the numeral 24, which foot pad may be readily tted over the metallic pedal 22 and be rigidly secured to the lever arm 2|, Referring rst to the foot pad structure of Figs. 2 to 4 inclusive, this structure includes a metallic holder 25 which is preferably formed of sheet metal having a bottom Wall 26 provided with an upturned ange 21 extending preferably con.

tinuously around the entire outer periphery oi the bottom wall 26. A resilient foot pad 28, preferably made of rubber, is fitted into the holder 25 `and is of a thickness greater than the depth 'of the holder flangev 2T such that the pad ex-I I tends above the flange or such that the operators foot will engage only they rubber pad. The pad 28 is made in the same form, defined by the in- `ner surface of the holder flange21, but is made slightly largerr around its `periphery than the `distance around the inner periphery of the ange pad holder is of elongated form, and wielded or otherwise secured to the underside of the holder there is preferably a pair of longitudinally spaced, metallic straps 29 and 30 extending transversely of the holder 25. Adjacent the sides of the holder 25 the straps 29 are provided with depending end portions or flanges 3l to straddle the pedal and the pedal arm 2|, the straps and the flanges 3| preferablybeing formed of a spring sheet metal. Adjacent their lower ends the oppositely disposed flanges 3| are provided with aligning apertures to receive a bolt 32 on one end of which a nut 33 is screwed down to draw the flanges 3| toward each other for detachably securing the foot pad holder 25 to the pedal or to the pedal arm. Usually the pedal and pedal arm are provided on the underside thereof with a longitudinally extending reinforcing rib 34, and, in order to insure against the foot padrslipping along the pedal arm, I .f

locate the bolt apertures in the ilanges 3l such that the bolts 32 will engage the underside of lthe rib 34, causing the bolts to be placed under a strain and to be bent slightly intermediate 'their ends, as illustrated in Figure 4.' By placing the bolts 32 under tension, as above pointed out and illustrated in Figure 4, it will be seen that the frictional force between the bolt and the rib 3d of the pedal arm will aid in preventing slipping of the'foot pedal unit from the desired position.

Referring now to the modified form of the foot pad shown in Figures 5 and 6, this pad differs from the previously described foot pad inf that the forward ilanges, as at 35of the holder instead of being drawn toward each other by a bolt are bent inwardly toward and around against the undersurface of the pedal arm, as illustrated in Figure 6. This construction is'less expensive than the rst described foot pad and is more easily attached to the foot pedal since it is only necessary to tighten one nut after the foot pad has been slipped onto the end of the n pedal.

In operating a steam presser I have found that F the herein described resilient foot pad materially decreases the shock formerly received on operating the foot pedal, with the result that the readily replaceable, if necessary. For purposes of illustration the present invention has been shown and described in connection with a steam presser, but it will be understood that the foot pad may be employed on the treadle of any kind of machine, for example, on the treadle of a welding machine.

While I have shown and described my invention in detail, it is to be understood that the lsame is to be limited only by the appended claims for many changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. In a machine having a pedal lever and a pedal for moving a head member down against a support, a removable attenuated foot pad unit coextensive with the pedal and lever comprising a holder for seating on the pedal projecting therebeyond in a vdirection of the pedal lever, means for clamping the holder to the pedal, and a resilient pad pressed into said holder and held therein solely by the compression force.

2. In a steam presser having a pedal lever and a pedal for moving a presser head against a steam table, a foot pad unit for the pedal comprising a holder having an upturned flange around the outer periphery thereof, said holder being coextensive with the pedal and pedal lever, a rubber pad forced into said holder and held thereto by the expansion force of the compressed rubber acting against the inner surface oi' the flange, a strap for holding the holder to the pedal lever and clamping means for attaching the holder to the pedal.

3. In a steam presser having a pedal and apedal lever with a convex under-surface for moving a presser head against a steam table, a removable ioot pad unit for the pedal comprising,

an elongated holder for seating on the pedal, a resilient pad insaid holder, a pair of downturned resilient flanges secured to and depending from said holdery adjacent opposite sides thereof for straddling the pedal lever, and means for extending beneath the pedal lever and drawing the flanges toward each other to secure the holder tothe pedal lever, said means being deformed by the convexity of the under-surface of said pedal lever to clamp said holder to said pedal. l

4. In a steam presser having a pedal and a pedal lever with a convex under-surface for moving a presser head against a steam table, a removable foot pad unit for the pedal comprising, an elongated holder coextensive with thelever and pedal, spaced straps secured to the underside of said holder for seating onA the pedal, said straps extending transversely of the holders and having downturned resilient end portions at opposite sides of said holder, and means for urging the end portions of each strap toward each other beneath said holder to secure said holder to the pedal lever and to the pedal, said means being deformed by the convexity of the under-surface of said pedal lever to clamp said holder to said pedal.

y5. In a steam presser having a pedal lever and underside of said holder and having downturned resilient end portions for vstraddling the pedal lever, and means including a bolt for extending beneath and engaging the yunderside of the pedal `and pedal lever and drawing said end portions toward each other to secure the holder to the pedal, 'v

r ARTHUR B. JONES. 

